Southeast Asia’s thriving buy now, pay later players (update)

This is the latest version of the article, which was previously updated on July 23, 2021. Since then, we’ve added our analysis of the latest developments in the sector as well as new players and funding rounds to the list.

While news of Klarna’s valuation shakedown has sent shockwaves through the buy now, pay later industry of late, Southeast Asia-based players appear not only to be relatively unscathed, but to be thriving.

This month, Tokopedia introduced GoPayLater Cicil, a flexible BNPL solution available to select users on the platform. It allows users to customize their loan limit and choose to split payments over one, three, six, or 12 months.

See also: BNPL struggles amid global recession – except in Southeast Asia

As of July, ShopBack, which acquired BNPL firm Hoolah last November, has officially launched ShopBack PayLater, its own native pay-later product, in Singapore and Malaysia. Meanwhile, the two-year-old Pace, which acquired competitor Rely in March, says earnings in the first quarter of this year matched that of its annual revenue in 2021.

Firms in the space continue to attract funding. While the number of deals have fallen from a high in 2020, the total deal value appears to have held steady.

In January, Philippines-based BillEase raised US$11 million. In July, SuperAtom, which operates pay-later platform UangMe in Indonesia, also raised US$22 million in a series C round.

That’s not to say that all is rosy for all BNPL firms in the region. Earlier this year, Australia player Zip entered Singapore through a partnership with Singtel Dash but called it quits in a matter of months. In June, Zip said it would prioritize its core markets of Australia, New Zealand, and the US.

See also: BNPL sours in Australia, but will SEA players buck the trend?

Jungle Pay, which operates BNPL services in the Philippines, has also quietly shut its doors. A check on its site shows the firm is no longer active.

Industry voices have also sounded caution on what rising interest rates, which directly impact the cost of borrowing – a key operational cost for BNPL firms – would mean for the industry.

What’s next?

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